A Hidden Kindness
by Lil'Conqueror
Summary: If you're strong for too long, you eventually start to lose your grip on reality. So when Bonnie spirals out of control when bad news strikes, who will be the one to pull her from the edge? Apparences really can be deceiving.


**A/N: **My first actual Bamon fic. I'm not a total fan of them _together,_ but I couldn't quite shake this idea from my mind. I thought it'd be cute, so here's my attempt at such a thing. Enjoy. :)

**Summary: **If you're strong for too long, you eventually start to lose your grip on reality. So when Bonnie spirals out of control when bad news strikes, who will be the one to pull her from the edge? Apparences really can be deceiving.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything. Sad life.

* * *

She was losing it, that much she was certain. The pain that rippled through her chest was agonizing. Even chanting a small spell to try and ease the pain didn't quite help. Of course, she didn't really think it would. This wasn't a physical type of pain anyways. She knew it was more emotional and mental if anything. At first, going through all the troubles and horrors that Mystic Falls had to offer wasn't as bad as she thought it was. Sure, she had a few kinks in her life here and there, but she got through them. She had help from those around her and she made it out alive. But now, after going through all this immortal, hybrid, witchy shenanigans, it was just _exhausting _and it really was taking a toll on her mind and heart.

I mean, how long was all of this going to go on exactly? How long did she have to keep fighting just to survive to see the next day? How long did she have to keep pushing her body to do another powerful spell? She wasn't going to lie and say it wasn't fun in the beginning, when she first had learned she had such powers. Recalling a moment in time where simply making feathers float in front of her best friend was calming and peaceful. But now, the spells she had to conjure up were taking a lot out of her.

Bonnie sighed, raking a shaking hand through her hair slowly.

Of course she couldn't say anything to anyone. She didn't want them to mistake her for weak, she didn't want to become a liability. Even though her Grams never wanted this life for her, to be insnared with a bunch of vampire problems and whatnot, her friends lives were at stake. She couldn't just disregard that. And Jeremy... Bonnie shook her head.

She needed to focus on the matter at hand. She couldn't just wallow in her self pity because she was having a hard time keeping up. But it wasn't just being able to keep up, there was more...

* * *

_"Hello, Miss Bennett." Dr. Harris smiled softly at her, shaking her hand and sitting down on the chair across from her. "What brings you here today?"_

_Smiling back, Bonnie began to explain her reason for her coming here._

_"I don't really know what's going on, exactly. Lately I've just been getting out of breath a lot and I find myself getting really dizzy, like it's hard for me to stand up properly." At first she assumed it was because she was over-exerting herself with her magic, so she tried to cut back on it for a few weeks, but when she still felt sick, she figured it had to be something more. Hopefully coming to the doctors would show something more medical-wise._

_Dr. Harris gave her a brief nod, writing some notes down in her file before swiftly standing up. _

_"Well, let's not waste another moment, shall we? I'll have the nurse come in and we'll run a few tests to see if we can figure out the problem."_

_Fidgiting in her seat, Bonnie nodded mutely and watched as he left the room to retrieve the nurse._

* * *

A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye, as she attempted to control her sobs. Why was she crying? Things like this happen all the time, especially to normal people. But she wasn't exactly _normal_, she never truly was such a thing.

"What's this? The wicked witch of the west, _crying? _I've seen a lot of fuckery in my time, but this has got to top the charts." A low and obnoxious voice rang through Bonnie's ears, causing her to stiffen and a low hiss to vibrate at the bottom of her throat.

"Damon."

Said person chuckled dryly. "I see my presence never fails to lift your spirits."

A flash of black blurred from the corner of her eye, until Damon was sitting directly next to her. Well, this was odd.

Without batting an eye, Bonnie spoke through gritted teeth, "Can I help you?"

Damon casually shrugged, "Can't a guy just come hang out with his favorite Bennett witch? Must I have a reason to grace your lovely presence?"

Now she was freaked out. Why was he talking to her like that? Looking at the arrogant Salvatore from the corner of her eye, she gave him a questioning look. Something was up, she could feel it. But after he didn't care to eleborate, she decided to call him out on it.

"Not sure what you've done with Damon, but be sure to give him my regards." She rolled her eyes and decided she should leave. Things were getting too weird staying here and it didn't seem healthy to attempt to see where this may lead. So without further adu, she got up, dusted herself off and turned on her heel. Damon, however, wasn't about to let her get away it seemed. He quickly flashed beside her and frowned.

"Leaving so soon? I thought we were having a nice time." Dropping his frown before she could see it, he quirked his usual annoying smirk.

Bonnie grunted. "I don't know what your game is, but it's freaking me out. Stop it."

He looked put off for a moment, but it was gone too soon to tell.

She merely shrugged as she headed back to her car. She had thought coming into the woods would help her clear her mind, but with Damon suddenly appearing, it hadn't helped in the slightest. Not, of course, if it actually would've helped if he had or had not shown up in the first place. Bonnie sighed and grabbed her keys from her coat pocket, ready to unlock the door when all of a sudden, Damon snatched her keys from her hand and started whistling as he made his way to her car.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled, running after him whilst trying to grab her keys back, but he held them way above her head. Childishly, she tried jumping to grab them, but realizing her efforts were in vain, she stopped with a pout. Unconciously aware of the close proximity her and Damon were sharing, she silently took a step back and glared up at him, to which he grinned down at her.

"Giving up already? I didn't realize you were capable of such an act." The hidden meaning lying beneath his words didn't go unnoticed by her, but she chose to ignore it.

She huffed angerly, "Reason you need my car keys?"

Damon halfshrugged and motioned to her car, "Get in."

Bonnie nearly gapped as he pulled himself into her driver seat. She was certainly appalled that he had the vampiric balls to actually steal her keys from her and get into _her _car without even batting an eye. The world must be ending. Hell has frozen over. She had no idea who this guy thought he was, but he wasn't acting like his usual self. And it was really starting to scare her.

Coming around to the other side of the car, she opened the door and crossed her arms. Staring at her for a moment, Damon rolled his eyes.

"Will you get in already? Jesus, my Grandma can move faster than that."

She gave him a vicious look, not moving a muscle.

"Not until your ass tells me where we're going. And _why _we happen to be going anywhere."

Growling under his breath, Damon yanked himself out of the car and stomped over to where Bonnie was standing. Pushing the passanger side door open more fully, he pointed to the seat.

"Get in."

She glared. He snorted.

"Bonnie, if you don't get your small ass into this damn car right now, I will shove you in their myself." His ice blue orbs flashed dangerously, but somehow, Bonnie wasn't afraid.

"You have some nerve bossing me around about _my _car, Salvatore."

Damon shrugged, a small grin appearing on his face even though his eyes were narrowed.

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, sweetly. The sound sick and wrong on his tongue.

"No." She answered flatly, rolling her eyes as if that were the most obvious thing on the earth. But I mean, really, it should've been.

It wasn't a secret the lack of friendship Damon and Bonnie had. They were always bickering about one thing or another. Damon didn't like her and she sure as hell didn't have a soft spot for him. So, what was this?

As if he'd finally gotten agitated with her stubbornness, in a swift move, he flashed behind her, karate chopped a certain pressure on her neck and just as she started to pass out and hit the ground, he caught her with ease.

The last thing she remembered was seeing his blue eyes, hooded with a certain type of emotion she couldn't figure out quite then and his departing words;

"You'll be okay."

* * *

"We seriously need to stop meeting like this, Ric, it's far too damn depressing." Damon whispered, taking another chug from his bourbon bottle.

From beside him, he could hear Bonnie's slow, deep breaths and turning his head slightly, he could make out the small frown adoring her lips and the crease in her forward. This could've been a perfect time to mess with her head, but for some reason, he didn't want to disturb her. Something had been bugging the young witch as of late, that much everyone was aware of. Cutting back on her magic? Sure she had a good excuse for saying so, and yeah she had everyone believing her story, but not him. There was something more than she was letting on. So, he took it upon himself to make time out of his Elena-chasing day to do a little researching. And sure enough, after half-flirting and half-bribing on his part to Dr. Fell, he'd found the problem. Something that even shocked him.

* * *

_"Damon, you know I can't give away a patient's information." Meredith Fell shook her head quickly, cutting off the conversation that she knew Damon was attempting to bring up. _

_"I know, I know. Patient confidentality and all that." He rolled his eyes, stepping a little closer and invading her personal space. Meredith held her breath and looked up into his piercing blue eyes curiously. "But it's Bonnie we're talking about. The lovely little witch that loves to fry my brain. I'm sure she won't mind having her friends know what's been going on with her." He grinned cheekily at the end and Meredith frowned._

_"Didn't realize you both were close." She raised an eye brow._

_Damon halfshrugged and leaned a little bit closer, flashing his eyes brilliantly in a way that normally got him what he wanted. _

_Casting her gaze off to the side, she sighed. "It's not that I don't want to tell you what's going on. In fact, I'm surprised she didn't tell anyone her condition..." She paused and for that moment, Damon narrowed his eyes suspiciously. So he was right. Something was wrong with the Bennett witch. _

_Slowly, she glanced back up at the man before her. _

_"I'm not her doctor, though. For some reason, she requested another to take my place. And before you say anything, yes, I was a little _concerned _she'd done so being that I know each and every one of you personally, so I did a little digging..." _

_The next words to come out of her mouth were more than just surprising. The astonishment that followed was perplexing and it made Damon's undead heart freeze on the spot. Before an unknown feeling swept over him._

* * *

Taking another swig, he looked back at Alaric's grave.

"Didn't I tell you, brother, _children_." Damon shook his head.

Abruptly, a wary voice was heard from beside him. "The only _child _I see here is you."

Damon smirked, but didn't turn his head.

"Ah, sleeping beauty's finally awake. Have a nice nap? Don't worry, I didn't do anything you wouldn't want me to." He wagged his eye brows seductively and Bonnie had to control herself from dry heaving, completely appalled at his lecherous side, especially towards her.

Ignoring him, she sat up slowly and looked around at her surroundings. The gravesite all too familiar and it instantly put a damper on her already decreasing mood.

"Why are we here?"

Turning back to the headstone in front of them, Damon took a pregnant pause. Why did he bring them here? Perhaps with all the choas that was going on around them, this was the only place he could actually let loose and drop any guard he'd normally have up. Perhaps it was his best friend's grave that gave him a little peace of mind despite everything going on in Mystic Falls and its citizens.

When several moments passed, Bonnie cleared her throat. Damon looked deep in thought and whilst in that state, he looked almost sad. It was weird seeing Damon crumble like that, especially in her presence and for a moment, Bonnie wasn't sure what to do.

"...Damon?" She whispered hesitantly, for some reason, afraid to startle him.

Seconds began to pass before finally he turned his head towards her, his striking blue eyes hooded with an emotion she couldn't quite identify.

"So many times I believed the world was ending, that I couldn't go another _day _living the life I was dealt with." He started and the look Bonnie had given him must have irritated him because he quickly turned his head and scoffed. "Yes, _Bonnie, _I have moments where I detest life. Is that so hard to believe?"

Bonnie, not fully aware of their talk that was happening here, smartly kept her mouth shut and waited for him to continue. She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but really, why not try to get a glimpse in the head of Damon Salvatore while the opportunity arose? With that thought in mind, she gave him an apologetic look and motioned for him to continue.

Sighing under his breath, he took another swig of his bourbon, eyeing his friend's grave sorrowfully.

"You may think that since my turning into a creature of the undead, I'm just this monster that goes out of his way to hurt those around him. To cause pain and suffering to those beneath him."

At that point, Bonnie opened her mouth to retort, "I don't think you've yet to show me otherwise. You think that because you're a vampire that it gives you this free pass to do whatever the hell you want. And while, _yes, _you need human blood to function properly, you _don't _need to bring out this beast that kills for the joy of it and feeds off of the weak and pained. That is a _choice, _Damon. And for some reason, while all the other vampires are trying their best to keep their humanity in tact, you seem to be trying your hardest to do just the opposite. I mean, is this a game for you? Don't you feel _anything_?"

Damon, having sat their calmly listening to her rant, began to open his mouth to reply but Bonnie swiftly cut him off.

"And don't tell me for a second that you don't, that you're this monster that lurks in the dark and destroys everything in his wake. You do feel. If Elena's anything to go by, I know you feel. And yet, you still can't bring yourself to be the difference in your vampire blood." Bonnie inhaled sharply, "I've hated you for so long for the pain you've caused me. The problems you've brought into my life, what you did to my family. I _hated _you. But I had to suck it up because my best friend, for some unknown reason that only God knows, she thought you were worth saving. Even now, I still think that's debatable."

Not having got a word in up until now, Damon nodded solemnly. And for once in an argument with the Eldest Salvatore, Bonnie deflated from where she sat next to him. All the energy and hatred she'd felt towards the blue-eyed vampire, vanished. And in it's wake, she felt drained and powerless. But most importantly, she felt stupid. All of a sudden, she couldn't remember why she held on to her hatred for so long. She was never that type of person before. Sure, he'd wronged her on more than one occassion, but- Was she any better than him? Holding on to a grudge just like he was? Manipulating others to get specific matters taken care of? Of course she's done it.

As if reading her mind, Damon cut in sarcastically, "Seems we're not all that different then, hm?"

She wanted so badly to tear his head off, to scream at him that they were different. But when she actually sat back and thought about it, he was right.

"I'll let you in on a little secret though," He grinned, the pain behind it quite startled the young witch as she stared at him in silent awe. He leaned in a little bit closer, watching as her brow furrowed in concentration that nearly made him lose it. A tone nothing more than a whisper, danced in her ear drums, "There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish that I could be human again."

Bonnie's breath caught in her throat and even after he leaned back, she still couldn't find her voice.

After another moment, Damon broke out into a huge smirk, the tension that was so thick it could be cut with a knife was lifted and Bonnie nearly had to kick herself for allowing Damon to get into her head like that. Had he even meant it? She wondered absently, narrowing her eyes as he chuckled amusedly.

Damon frowned abruptly, when he went to take another swig of the bottle in his hand and found it to be empty. "Ah, damn."

Bonnie barely heard what he was mumbling about; too focused on the sudden turn of events to grasp what was really going on here.

_"There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish that I could be human again."_

Without realizing it, a lone tear fell down her cheek. How many times had she thought the same thing? Sure, she was human, but not to the core. She had powers, powers that were taking over her life before her very eyes. It was fun, but after everything she's been through and had to endure, she didn't _want _it anymore. She wanted to go back to the days where all she had to worry about is if she passed her test or not; back to the days where she could actually be a woman and go out on dates and have fun and just enjoy life. She didn't want to worry about people dying because of supernatural causes. She didn't want to think about vampire and werewolves. She wanted to be normal again, she wanted life to be enjoyable again.

Abruptly, she could feel the onslot of tears coming down and quickly, before Damon could see it, cupped her face in her hands.

And now, maybe she wouldn't even get to see herself grow up and be happy oncemore.

From beside her, she felt the air shift until she suddenly smelt alcohol and Damon's cologne. She didn't look up though, she couldn't let the eldest Salvatore see her in such a weakend state. Hell, she didn't even want to see herself in this state but this is what life had dropped her down to. Of course, it was inevitable.

Without her even having to say anything, Damon placed a cautious hand on her shoulder. And after a moment, his velvet voice lifted through her ears.

"I'm not going to lie and say I know what you're going through. I won't say that it's going to get easier and that everything will be rainbows and unicorns." He chided softly, earning a small scoff from her before he continued, "But I will say this, I don't care what you may think, I don't give a damn if you think the world is falling apart and you're in the middle of all this choas by yourself, because you know what? _You're not._ Everyone is suffering, Bonnie. Everyone is dealing with their own demons, their own little slice of hell. I don't know where you get off in thinking you're in this alone, because goddamnit, you're not that damn special." The hilarity in that sentence was obvious and silently, Bonnie cracked a brief smile behind her hands. Damon hadn't stopped though.

"Shit happens to those who deserve it and shit happens to those who don't. There's neither good nor bad in any situation, because some God out there has this sick sense of humor and will smite us either way." He snapped, his hand on her shoulder tightening slightly.

"But I will say this, the people in Mystic Falls are some stubborn son's of bitches and we don't go down without one hell of a fight!" Quickly, without batting an eye, he yanked her hands away from her face and watched as she gasped softly through her tears. "I know what you've been hiding from everyone and while that doesn't bother me personally because you know how I relish in pissing you off, I don't particularly like being lied to Bennett, as much of a hypocrite as that sounds because Lord knows I have more than enough secrets of my own hidden by lock and key. But you have friends, namely Elena and Caroline and even Saint Stefan regardless what you may believe, that give a damn about what's going on in your life and how the problems that seems to occur more often than not in our stubborn little town, seem to affect you. You're not just some witch to them, unlike me, they give a damn about what happens to you."

At this point, Bonnie felt like Damon was just dragging this out. She knew this was just as awkward for him as it was for her and she really wasn't sure why he was even bothering at all. It sounded like he cared, than he pointed out that he doesn't, then he cares again and then suddenly, he doesn't. His whole argument was going back and forth and it was starting to make her head spin.

Looking towards Alaric's grave, Bonnie couldn't quite fight the smile that broke out on her face. She had to give it to him though, despite trying to convince them that he didn't give a shit, he really was trying his best to cheer her up. She could tell he wasn't accustomed to this sort of thing and for even attempting to try, she figured she'd let him off easy.

So before he could open his mouth to try and preach again, she quickly cut him off with a radiant smile that took all the strength in her.

"Thank you, Damon."

* * *

_Only days after they'd ran several different tests on her, did Bonnie finally get an official call from Dr. Harris. _

_"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Bennett, but I have some strange news pertaining to the reason you'd visited my office a few days prior." He started off solemnly and Bonnie immediately felt dread consume her as she waited almost impatiently for him to continue._

_After a silent moment, Dr. Harris cleared his throat and continued._

_"I regret to inform you that I don't particularly know precisely what is wrong with you. The tests we had ran didn't show anything specifically, but there were traces of an irregular heartbeat. Normally, signs like that are made possible because of being stressed and overworked. But I can't see how it's making you so sick, so I'm going to assign you to a specialist in Richmond, he's a colleague of mine and I know you'll be in great hands with him." He explained, his tone, despite being professional, was extremely gentle and kind. _

_Once he scheduled an appointment for her with his colleague, they bid their goodbyes and she promptly ended the call. _

_Slowly, as if in a daze, Bonnie slid down to the floor and gazed at nothing in particular as she thought to herself. _

_'Irregular heartbeat?' _

_Placing a hand to her chest, she blinked slowly, allowing the information to set in._

* * *

Damon stared at Bonnie oddly, her words of gratitude shocked him minimally but held great depth when it finally reached his head.

Bonnie Bennett was thanking _him_.

* * *

_"Dr. Harris is sending her to a specialist, but I know what's going on with her." Meredith whispered lowly, eyeing a passing nurse thoughtfully before turning her attention back to Damon. _

_"She's overworked, Damon. And I don't mean with school or family matters." She shook her head, sighing as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You may think it's a girl thing, a thing that us girls think about like we're some God and we're trying to play hero and whatnot, but Bonnie is suffering from irregular heartbeats. And no, it's not something to be taken lightly. The doctors don't know because they aren't up-to-date with the whole Team Salvatore affairs, but because Bonnie always use to overexert herself, it's been taking a toll on her body, her _heart_."_

_Damon quickly cut her off, shaking his head. "In case you haven't noticed, she hasn't been brewing anything in her witchy pot lately."_

_Meredith rolled her eyes. "You think that's the only thing that'll stress her out? It's worrying about everything, Damon. It's wondering if her friends are coping okay, it's thinking if this seemingly eternal war will ever be over, it's trying her best to keep up with all this craziness in town from the Originals to the hybrids. You think that expanding that much energy and making it out alive doesn't do some type of damage to her? Hell, I think everyone is actually spent from having to put up with even half the shit that they're going through. Even you, Damon, aren't you tired?" _

_At loss for words, the blue-eyed Salvatore kept his mouth shut and looked away._

_"She's pushing herself so much to try and keep up that she doesn't realize the damage that she's doing to herself. I know for certain that guy Shane knows exactly what's going on, what with him teaching her his ways and all." Meredith looked down as well. "Bonnie wants so bad not to be the weakest link and hold everyone back. She wants to be someone another person can admire and look up to, but she's stressing herself out over a battle that isn't meant for her to be fighting against. I'm sure her 'Grams' felt the same way back when she was around, trying to protect her granddaughter from the supernatural bullshit. You may think Bonnie is this witch that can do anything, but she's a _girl_. She is a human before she is a witch. And humans aren't meant to take on ordeals at such a high capacity."_

_"You all expect so much from her and she's trying to bend over backwards to accomodate your wishes. But her body isn't built like yours is. She can't do it. And at this rate, the only thing you all are doing for her is sending her to an early grave."_

_Damon's eyes widend fractionally as he listened intently. _

_"She's going to die, Damon. And I don't know about you, but I do know a few people who would more than just cry at her funeral."_

* * *

"Stop pushing yourself so fucking hard." Damon blurted out, looking away as if he were annoyed by her presence.

Bonnie gave him a questioning look, about to open her mouth and ask what the hell he was talking about, when he interrupted her.

"I told you before, I know what you're hiding. Stop thinking you have to take on the world alone, that this battle we're raging on is solely up to you to fix. It's not. We're not here as fucking statues. We're in this war just as much as you are. Yes, we may rely on you to be our Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but if for one second you're not up to the fight _physically, _you open your damn mouth and express that! I don't care how many times I try to convince you otherwise, you use that small little spell you have to fry my brain and you let _us _know." Damon huffed, clearly irritated and for several moments, Bonnie could only stare at the side of his face.

After what felt like forever, Bonnie slowly broke out into a triumphant smirk.

"I really should've been recording this. Damon Salvatore, the number one pain in my ass, going all soft and considerate on me." She quickly shook her head, the smirk getting bigger. "I never would've guessed under all that egotistical, self-righteous, black pit of a hole in your chest that I'm sure is covered by a thick layer of ice, did you actually have a heart. Truly, I'm amazed."

Damon smirked, "Aw, shucks. You're gonna make me blush."

Bonnie laughed softly and looked down thoughtfully.

"I don't know why you don't show this side more often. People might actually like you, you know."

Damon chuckled. "Is that your confession of developing a crush on me?" He winked seductively; normally, it would've set her off, but somehow she couldn't help but laugh now.

Without noticing, Damon grinned softly before she could see. From around them, the wind started to pick up as the sun started to set.

"Guess we'd better get going. As fun as this is, I'm all out of bourbon and I'm sure you don't want anyone assuming I've taken you as my hostage to torture and kill because we happen to be missing together, coincindently."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and stood up as well. "You're good, Damon, but you're not _that _good. I'd have brought you to your knees before you could even touch me."

Damon smirked with glee and wagged his eye brows.

"Is that your way of flirting? Because I'll take you up on your challenge." He winked playfully, nudging her.

Out of reflex, Bonnie made a face and punched his arm with all her might, regardless of the fact that it wouldn't harm him. Even after their talk, he's reverted back into the old Damon she'd grown to know, the one that didn't completely freak her out.

Before she could react, Damon wrapped a strong around around her body, locking her arms in place.

"Ah, how I've missed this close-bonding witchy-vampire thing we've had going on. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

Bonnie made a face, "Sure that isn't your brain sparking a fire within your skull if you don't let go of me this instant."

Laughing out loud, Damon instantaneously let her go and quickly messed up her hair and with vampiric speed, he was out before she could cause any damaged to his mind. Bonnie, now suddenly by herself and next to her car, gave a long and tired sigh. After a moment though, perked up and smiled softly.

Looking off into the direction Damon had gone, she inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Thank you," He had her this time, she could admit. But next time, he wouldn't be so lucky. "Damon."

* * *

**A/N: **Finally, doneee. For a oneshot that I figured would be done in a day, two days tops, it sure took me longer than I would've thought. I can tell you right now, it honestly didn't go how I had planned. I had a completely different thought, but this is what it turned into. I'm not upset, per say, but I feel like it could've been better. Ah, well. I still felt like it came out alright for the most part and I hope you guys agree. :) I know they kind of sound OOC, but it was literally so hard for me to keep them IN character and as you can see, I tried my best. :c

Anyways, reviews are as perfect as Damon covered chocolate. Oh, my. Arigato!


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